aminopterin, melamine, salmonella, pet food recalls

Let's make our own kibble

By Judi McLeod

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Yet another pet food company has announced a continent-wide recall of dog, cat and ferret pet food treats that could be contaminated--this time--with salmonella.

The contaminating agents that can be found in commercial pet foods include scientist-suspected aminopterin, melamine and salmonella.

Little wonder why pet owners are anxiety stricken.

The worrisome debut of salmonella is completely unrelated to the massive melamine-tainted dog and cat food leading to kidney failure in many pets across North America.

Dingo treats are on the latest recall list. Eight in One Inc., a division of United Pet Group Inc., is recalling all packages of Dingo Chick'N Jerky, Dingo Kitty Chicken Jerky and Dingo Ferret Chicken Jerky. The treats are currently sold at PetSmart in Canada and at Target in the U.S.

The Associated Press reports that Eight in One allegedly received a report of a dog infected with salmonella, which has led to further testing of the product. Some, but not all, of the samples that were tested are contaminated.

Before it's all over, will the products of all pet food companies be added to the growing recall list? That's destined to happen because as far as anyone can tell, pet food companies are getting their wheat gluten from China.

From the cornfields in Iowa to the Manhattan high-rise, from the Canadian prairies to the East Coast, pet owners are worried.

How many farmers go out to their fields to worry? How many office clerks are at work worrying about symptoms showing up in their pets?

There is no assurance from scientists, who seem to keep changing the agents responsible for increasing illness and death from pets being fed tainted commercial cat and dog food.

Consumer choice is left to running to find foods that are not on the recall list, or leaving beloved pets to go hungry.

The current poisoned pet food scare has created a boom in homemade pet meals. But buying homemade pet food may break the budget, and given the scope of the current recall, supply could run out.

Perhaps the answer is in your own kitchen.

As one homemade pet food source says, "It takes a lot of effort to create a good home-made food."

But any pet lover will tell you that Fluffy and Fido are well worth the effort.

Worried about the Canada Free Press (CFP) family of pets, I remembered the pet cookies I used to make for my little dog, Kiko and Friends.

The idea came from my days of walking Kiko in College Park, within easy walking distance of the CFP office. It was there that I met Sophia who taught me the recipe for dog cookies one holiday season. They were made of small amounts of liver and garlic, with lots of bone meal and cornmeal.

They didn't smell so great when they were in the oven, but all the dogs in College Park mobbed me when I carried them in my pocket.

The homemade pet cookies had the consistency of kibble, but all dogs in the park took to them in the same way as cats take to catnip.

In light of the current market, there are plenty of benefits to having your own homemade "kibble". You don't have to wait on a scientist to make up his mind on what's in it. You will have the peace of mind that comes from knowing the ingredients that made your private brand of kibble.

You are not doing this to cash in on the lucrative pet food market; you are only guaranteeing that your beloved pet is not being poisoned.

Homemade pet kibble can be made in batches to last you weeks or months, so that you can still attend to your farm fields or office life.

Best of all, you will no longer have to rely on products with wheat gluten imported from China and take any chances on the health of your family pet.

As long as Greenpeace, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA), a gaggle of government inspectors or trade unions don't invade your kitchen, your homemade kibble should tide you over until the pet food scare subsides. Then life will go back to normal, worrying about Bird Flu and West Nile Virus and the latest scare as passed on by the UN's World Health Organization (WHO).

Heck, if it's not breaking anybody's law, or putting anybody's underwear in a twist, you can even come up with your own name for your homemade kibble.

In honour of the CFP pet family, after Ra, Bast, Scribbs and Kiko, I'm calling mine RBSK, short for Really Beyond Safe Kibble.

But the best thing of all about being your own pet food maker is the wagging tail of your healthy dog and the welcome purr of your feline, neither of which ever came out of a pouch or a can.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com

Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement